Time is rapidly running out for opponents of nighttime games at the stadium at Cardinal Gibbons High School.

The opponents have written city commissioners to persuade them to reconsider the decision by the planning board to allow the use of lights installed three years ago. Under city code, the planning board’s decision becomes official Feb. 17 unless the commission takes up the matter.

The lights were installed as a result of bureaucratic screw-up at City Hall and remained unused during a protracted legal battle. The school spent $250,000 to install the four light poles - two of which are 65 feet high and two of which are 95 feet high.

School officials accepted a number of conditions limiting the lights’ use in order to win the planning board’s approval. Some neighbors, though, say night games will disturb their lives with noise and light

The commission usually gives great deference in such cases to the district representative – in this case, Bruce Roberts. Roberts, though, has said he won’t seek to re-consider the planning board decision.

Opponents have wrote the commissioners repeatedly since the planning board decision on Jan. 18. They contend the planning board ignored a variety of legal and may have allowed personal feelings to sway the vote.

Bob Prager, a member of the Coral Ridge Preservation Association, said the group will go to court if the commission doesn’t intervene.

“It would be so much quicker if the City Commission would call this up,” Prager said Tuesday. “It looks like it will end up in court, but I still hope not.”

Comments

How sad and petty those few residents are...who KNOWINGLY BOUGHT A HOME NEAR A SCHOOL..that they would choose to set such a selfish, non-charitable and ugly example for the kids affected in this situation. I guess you don't even have to go abroad to witness the proverbial 'ugly American' in action when we have people like this in our own backyard.

Anytime you have something (stadium lights) intrusive,offensive,or an invasion(residents being inconvienced,something considered hostile) they will prevail in court. Also to consider the permit for the Stadium lights were not gotten in a corrective manner. Somebody either lied about the height of the lights, or someone who knew someone etc. was passed (approved) say under the rug, is again going to prevail if this goes to Court. These residents should be heard. the Commission should hear this. They are our elected body ,they not the P/Z Board should have made this determination.Although the P/Z Bd. can make a recommedation, that should have been it. This Board is not the final say-you watch...

Of course Bruce won't reconsider, if he does he will lose the Gibbons' Community donations come election time. Bruce, if you won't reconsider at least INVESTIGATE the person who wrongfully approved the permit. You not doing anything at all proves that this was a "good ole' boys" deal.

These neighbors are RIDICULOUS! The paper reported that they actually complained about the noise from the day time games too. Perhaps they would like the high school to shut down so as not to bother them.

For those of you who think this is a planned conspiracy or kickback to look the other way while they put in lights - I can't imagine that you are correct. Having had my kids in private school, no one would want to spend $250,000 on questionable lights. That is one heck of a lot of bake sale profit to risk. I'm sure that someone at city hall gave the school the wrong information prior to the permit request, then approved the permits before someone realized the cities mistake - and the school is trying to accomodate the neighbors while at the same time not wasting $250K of donations.

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Broward County is an unusually rich territory for political news. The Broward Politics blog is devoted to the politicians, the activists, the parties, the policies, the issues, the elections - in the county and its communities.

ANTHONY MAN is the Sun Sentinel’s political writer. Concentrating on local political people, parties and trends, he also covers state and national politics from a South Florida perspective. He's coordinating the Broward Politics blog with contributions from reporters throughout the county. Before moving to the Broward political beat, he covered politics and Palm Beach County government for the Sun-Sentinel, including touch-screen voting and the Supervisor of Elections Office. He's also covered municipal, county, state, and federal elections and made repeated reporting trips to Tallahassee for regular and special sessions of the Florida Legislature. He joined the Sun-Sentinel in 2002 after covering state and local politics in Illinois. Like so many others in South Florida, he's originally from a New York suburb (Rockland County).

BRITTANY WALLMAN covers Broward County and news. A 1991 University of Florida graduate, Wallman started her journalism career at the Fort Myers News Press. She and her husband Bob Norman have two young children -- Creed and Lily. Wallman was born in Iowa and spent half her childhood there, the remainder in Oklahoma. She has covered local government and elections her entire reporting career -- including covering the infamous 2000 recount here in the presidential election. (She has a Mason jar with a "hanging chad'' inside to prove it.)

LARRY BARSZEWSKI covers Fort Lauderdale and Wilton Manors. In the past, he has reported on Palm Beach County government and schools, aging and social issues, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach and state legislative sessions. He wrote for the Denver Post, Bradenton Herald and Miami Herald before joining the Sun Sentinel in 1988. A Massachusetts native, he lives in Boca Raton with his wife, Maggie, and teenage daughters Jessica and Jackie.